Ty Simpkins cast as the lead in Jurassic World

Iron Man 3 actor confirmed to star

Jurassic World has just landed its first official cast member in the form of 12-year-old Ty Simpkins.

That name should be familiar to anybody who’s seen Iron Man 3 – the young actor appeared in the Marvel threequel as a troubled kid who befriends Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr).

Simpkins is the first cast member to be confirmed by Universal Pictures, with rumours still doing the rounds that Jake Johnson ( New Girl ) and Bryce Dallas Howard will also star .

Considering the Jurassic Park films always revolve around kids, it’s entirely fitting that Jurassic World ’s first official player is a youngster – and it’s promising that Simpkins is the one who’s landed the role.

In Iron Man 3 , Insidious and Revolutionary Road , he’s impressed with his maturity and skilfully dodged the ‘annoying Hollywood brat’ pitfalls that many young actors fall into.

And after Insidious , he's surely perfected his 'scared face' for when the dinosaurs inevitably try to eat him.